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Samurai Archery, Sport from 12th Century, Still Thrives

news.yahoo.com — Archery on horseback. Not an Olympic sport. But if rhythmic dancing & synchronized swimming are, why not this.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 5, 2009

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42 Comments

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  • Pedobear, on 01/04/2009, -1/+37Do you get a piece of heart or an upgraded quiver for winning?
  • smacksaw, on 01/05/2009, -1/+12Nice find. That's my wife's family's art. I don't think it could ever be really that popular simply because there are so few people doing it. It's almost lost.

    I am considering sending my kids back there to see if they can study it so it doesn't die off. We're making an effort to preserve the history of the Ogasawara clan, especially since so many Japanese these days eschew their history for modernism.
  • AmyVernon, on 01/05/2009, -0/+7That's not absolutely true. In competition, such as this one the article's written about, "hitting counts."

    It reminds me of the biathlon, a winter Olympics sport that always leaves me scratching my head.
  • Griminald, on 01/05/2009, -1/+8No, it won't be an olympic sport, and it's probably better that way. I don't know that any other region could do this without bastardizing it, even if they were remotely interested in a combination of riding and archery. This is more of a celebration of a local ancient art form.
  • TempusEdax, on 01/05/2009, -0/+5Genghis Khan and his warriors used entirely different bows than the Samurai used. They were much shorter, curved, and were fired in a different way. His success came from ruthless wartime practices, skilled horsemen and brilliant, before his time tactics.

    That being said, this style of Samurai archery is badass.
  • thcobbs, on 01/05/2009, -0/+5If you can cross-country ski AND hit those little ***** targets... You're not only in great shape, you're also an amazing marksman.
  • Finalreminder, on 01/05/2009, -0/+4So does Longbow archery in England and Wales.
    Use a longbow once and almost snapped my arm in two - I'm a fairly big bloke too.
  • inactive, on 01/05/2009, -1/+5The ideas are the same, basically the Ghengis Mongolians were an army of archeries on horse back.
  • fluxion, on 01/05/2009, -2/+6http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc7dYA9Vo4U

    not sure if the gigantic penis at the beginning is part of this event or not
  • adiggityam, on 01/05/2009, -0/+4If The Last Samurai taught me anything, it's that Gatling Gunnery kicks the living ***** out of this sport.
  • nrvous250gt, on 01/05/2009, -0/+4Tim Ferris, author of The 4 Hour Workweek, did a show called Trial By Fire in which he learned Yabusame in just a couple of days. It was on the history channel in early December, but I haven't seen another episode since.
  • LaughingMan89, on 01/05/2009, -0/+4All I got was this lousy 50 rupees!
  • cksos1, on 01/05/2009, -0/+3Really this would be a great sport to watch! Like the post said, if Synchro Swim and Rythmic are Olympic sports...
  • liveart, on 01/05/2009, -0/+3That was just a pilot to determine if they would make it into a full series. Not sure if it got picked up or not.
  • groo68, on 01/05/2009, -3/+6Im sure it wasnt a sport back then, it was a war skill.. probably, i dont know. also, samurai == japan, Ghengis Kahn == Mongolia, on two different sides of china. Opposite sides even.
  • JamesBondJr, on 01/04/2009, -1/+4hitting the target is an afterthough.....the archers are judged on their form on the horse and when releasing the arrow. definitely more of an art
  • CedEx, on 01/05/2009, -0/+3I think the idea is that you shoot arrows from the back of a horse, and Genghis Khan used this technique rather well in his military strategies.
  • ethnicman, on 01/05/2009, -0/+3Not taking away from the excellent shape the contestants are in but in the biathlon you dont shoot at the target while skiing. You ski, stop, laydown, shoot and then continue skiing. Now what would be cool is the giant slalom while attempting to shoot at targets.
  • hasslinthehoff, on 01/05/2009, -0/+3At least I'd watch that...
  • Wackoman, on 01/05/2009, -0/+3They're getting rid of softball iirc.
    I guess if they get this one we'll need the headless goat game too.
  • borez, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2They're firing at the target from about a foot away?
  • borez, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2Not if you're at one with Ninjutsu Columbidae Technique my friend.
  • twiztidsinz, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2Ninja clay pigeons are so hard to hit :(
  • tensaibaka, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2If you want to see some more pictures and video footage of this type of archery, check out this link on youtube: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=2D4t2k-Joc0&feat ...
  • ToYKillAS, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=GLEZmlmrQ1I
    check at 2:40
  • borez, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2Right up there with Ninja Clay Pigeon Shooting.
  • PhillyOC, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2Fascinating!
  • DirtyBinLV, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2
    If anyone in Las Vegas is interested in Samurai archery, send me a shout. Classes start in 2 weeks.
  • k3rfuffl3, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2All defeated by the Gaijin Smash.
  • adiggityam, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2Mongolia? Afghanistan? Any nomadic region?
  • drizzt, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=FKa8cjgw9oE
  • oninbonin, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2That's very interesting and entertaining! I hope that this event does not disappear, that would sadden me. Dugg for the giant penis, that was a laugh!
  • Chris061968, on 01/05/2009, -0/+2The modern equivalent was in a Godfather movie, gunfire from a moving motorcycle!
  • orangefly, on 01/05/2009, -1/+2http://digg.com/other_sports/can_shot_off_head_by_ ...
  • megostylez, on 01/05/2009, -0/+1Horse Jumping is in the olympics isn't it? But yeah they probably wouldn't add it considering how no other country continues to practice it...
  • rkiga, on 01/06/2009, -0/+1Kind of like the first year cricket was an Olympic sport, it was England versus France. Except the french team was made completely of players from the British embassy in Paris lol. Is cricket still an Olympic sport?
  • LiebeMachtFrei, on 01/05/2009, -2/+3Saw this on Wii News Feeder, Probably won't be an Olympic sport because it involves animals
  • 1hrSleep, on 01/10/2009, -0/+1Olympic (recurve) archery is a lot more accessible and already immensely popular in the East. I can't see this becoming an Olympic sport any time soon. (Damn it, Squash! Get to it!)
  • bobodew, on 01/05/2009, -2/+2What insurance company would insure it ? Ooops!
  • MrChunks, on 01/05/2009, -3/+3Nah, just an 8 slot bag of holding.
  • Godlike, on 01/05/2009, -3/+2Sure. More like, driving to work or even *****.
  • cgruber, on 01/05/2009, -5/+3I'm so torn, it combines the one thing I hate and the one thing I love. I hate horses but I love funny hats.

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